Despite its high density of leopards, Malawi
could previously only lay claim to a few itinerant lions in southerly Liwonde
National Park. The solitary male, known as Titus, was as elusive as the literary
character after which he was named; spotted in 2007 he went to ground until
2010, only to be seen once more before disappearing in 2011. Not much of a
reason for big cat buffs or travellers keen on spotting the precious Big Five (lion,
rhino, buffalo, leopard, elephant) to set their compass for this southern
African country.

Fortunately, late last August, two females
and two male lions (all three years old) were translocated from South Africa to
Malawi’s Majete
Wildlife Reserve in the south of the country. Along with a new president,
former women’s rights activist, Dr Joyce Banda (sworn in April 2012), the lions
represent a symbolic new start for this under-the-radar African nation.

To give both arrivals some context, things
in the country – known as the “Warm Heart of Africa” (both for its geographical
location and the friendly nature of its people) – had been going from bad to
worse under Malawi’s despotic president Bingu Wu Mutharika (2004 to 2012). By
early 2012, the country was in the grip of a debilitating fuel crisis, its
economy battered by Mutharika’s insistence on inflating the kwacha (national currency) by 40%. To
compound this, foreign exchange had been banned by the president and the
British High Commissioner kicked out. For travellers, there was no point in visiting;
it was impossible to get around without fuel and far too expensive.

But as the lions were being selected, Banda
was putting the country back together, re-establishing £93 million in aid from
Britain, solving the fuel crisis and making her presence known to the likes of US
President Obama and the International Monetary Fund. And then late summer, as
the economic skies began to clear for the first time in years, the lions
arrived at Majete, heralding a fresh dawn.

While lions are social creatures who live
in prides, they cannot be simply thrown together in the hope they will get along.
Cohesion occurs only when they come from the same area, so the Majete lions
were carefully picked and tranquilized in South Africa, and slowly introduced
to one another in a boma (enclosure)
for a month before making their great journey by plane to Majete. Sadly one
female died of hypertension on the flight – a major blow to an operation that
had been years in the planning – making it all the more crucial for the lions
to adapt successfully to their new environment.

Over the last nine months the lions have begun
marking their territory in northeastern sector of the reserve. Very soon after
their arrival, to the relief of African Parks’ staff, they began hunting
together and made several kills, including reedbuck, warthog and zebra. More
importantly one of the two males, Chimwala (meaning big rock), has taken to the
dominant female, Shire (named after the famous river that explorer David
Livingstone navigated into Lake Malawi in 1859), and they have started to mate
– much quicker than was expected.

Given their status as apex predators, other
animals in the park have had to recalibrate their behaviour accordingly, as
have the rangers who take visitors on walking safaris. Since the lions are
tagged, they can be successfully avoided on foot and easily discovered by car.

About 70km southwest of Blantyre, Malawi’s
commercial capital, and a short hop from Liwonde National Park, Majete is one
of the country’s largest protected areas, surrounded
by 7,000 hectares of private concession.
Like Malawi itself, it too has struggled to survive; prior to African Parks
taking over management of the reserve in 2003 (in partnership with the
government), the park’s animals had been hunted close to extinction, and the
unfenced area was being encroached on by human cultivation. The introduction of
lions is the crowning lorry to an expensive, nine-year process of massive
reinvigoration, where Majete became restocked with some 2,500 animals such as
leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo; its entire perimeter
was electric-fenced; and 150km of roads were laid to make the reserve more
safari-friendly.

In addition, an impressive new lodge was established
in 2012 by esteemed safari providers Robin
Pope Safaris. Mkulumadzi Camp,
accessed across a wobbly riverine suspension bridge, is now one of the most beautiful
places to stay and spot wildlife in the whole country; be it crocodile,
buffalo, leopard, elephant or lion. Its luxury accommodation is nothing short
of sumptuous; situated at the confluence of the Mkulumadzi and Shire Rivers,
the central building houses a fire pit, a kidney-shaped swimming pool,
driftwood sculptures and eight grass-roof eco chalets that blend perfectly with
their surroundings, with rain showers, sunken baths and widescreen views of the
river.

The game drives – be it day, night or river
safari – take the visitor past fleeting waterbuck, their backsides painted with
distinctive white rings, and bad tempered African water buffalo, one of
Africa’s most dangerous animals. There is also a staggering number of elephants;
come dusk you can expect to find your path blocked by herds making for an
evening drink. Young bulls are prone to charge in an act of dust kicking and
testosterone, but the guides are expert at talking to them quietly and slowly
drawing away.

It is hoped that Liwonde National Park and
northerly Nyika
National Park will soon follow suit with lion reintroduction, but for the
moment all eyes are fixed on the pride in Majete, waiting patiently for the
first birth – and with it perhaps the hopes of a nation.